tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8928384594309491262024-02-18T17:56:19.157-08:00Shannon's Ramblings...Fire and Icehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314249262153714244noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-892838459430949126.post-9352290520260950622011-08-16T13:24:00.003-07:002011-08-16T13:24:12.446-07:00Just about finished!<div class='posterous_autopost'><p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/ByqcngoceIoAmDfgdIljhmFxdksqqiJxbADuijJBhsCpBoaoqunyAockHmmd/p770.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="P770" height="746" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/ByqcngoceIoAmDfgdIljhmFxdksqqiJxbADuijJBhsCpBoaoqunyAockHmmd/p770.jpg.scaled1000.jpg" width="1000" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/osqrbEuxijbbtpzoFJzwgbAtJuifEuhIHFoxJzqwwrereEwwDJFshErjizom/p772.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="P772" height="746" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/osqrbEuxijbbtpzoFJzwgbAtJuifEuhIHFoxJzqwwrereEwwDJFshErjizom/p772.jpg.scaled1000.jpg" width="1000" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/mqoblGgJdFhlvuialwBvtzDqrbtGnflwHtoBaFDGxqlwwfqlGezuEDCxfpDH/p774.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="P774" height="746" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/mqoblGgJdFhlvuialwBvtzDqrbtGnflwHtoBaFDGxqlwwfqlGezuEDCxfpDH/p774.jpg.scaled1000.jpg" width="1000" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/FbwvgnjDjvcpCzwIsFvbGzwgylDkDGbdAvdnvtevkDbrdebBvikomfIJxoEH/p776.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="P776" height="746" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/FbwvgnjDjvcpCzwIsFvbGzwgylDkDGbdAvdnvtevkDbrdebBvikomfIJxoEH/p776.jpg.scaled1000.jpg" width="1000" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/qltkFCqjkphogAjboEzwzosefmpCCElwmpaEGitcIhFefzryoncfvDAdoyIz/p778.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="P778" height="746" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/qltkFCqjkphogAjboEzwzosefmpCCElwmpaEGitcIhFefzryoncfvDAdoyIz/p778.jpg.scaled1000.jpg" width="1000" /></a> <div class='p_see_full_gallery'><a href="http://shannonhandel.posterous.com/just-about-finished">See the full gallery on Posterous</a></div> </div> </p>I'm super excited (and pretty filthy) because the garden is almost finished! <p>Yes, I know it's late in the year to still be doing gardens, but I'll remind you, gentle reader, that the yard wasn't completely closed off until two weeks ago. Plus: this is the first summer I've probably had off since high school. I'm enjoying being lazy for a while.</p></div>Fire and Icehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314249262153714244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-892838459430949126.post-737757145499991242011-08-16T13:24:00.001-07:002011-08-16T13:24:04.488-07:00Just about finished!<div class='posterous_autopost'><p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/ByqcngoceIoAmDfgdIljhmFxdksqqiJxbADuijJBhsCpBoaoqunyAockHmmd/p770.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="P770" height="746" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/ByqcngoceIoAmDfgdIljhmFxdksqqiJxbADuijJBhsCpBoaoqunyAockHmmd/p770.jpg.scaled1000.jpg" width="1000" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/osqrbEuxijbbtpzoFJzwgbAtJuifEuhIHFoxJzqwwrereEwwDJFshErjizom/p772.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="P772" height="746" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/osqrbEuxijbbtpzoFJzwgbAtJuifEuhIHFoxJzqwwrereEwwDJFshErjizom/p772.jpg.scaled1000.jpg" width="1000" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/mqoblGgJdFhlvuialwBvtzDqrbtGnflwHtoBaFDGxqlwwfqlGezuEDCxfpDH/p774.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="P774" height="746" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/mqoblGgJdFhlvuialwBvtzDqrbtGnflwHtoBaFDGxqlwwfqlGezuEDCxfpDH/p774.jpg.scaled1000.jpg" width="1000" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/FbwvgnjDjvcpCzwIsFvbGzwgylDkDGbdAvdnvtevkDbrdebBvikomfIJxoEH/p776.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="P776" height="746" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/FbwvgnjDjvcpCzwIsFvbGzwgylDkDGbdAvdnvtevkDbrdebBvikomfIJxoEH/p776.jpg.scaled1000.jpg" width="1000" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/qltkFCqjkphogAjboEzwzosefmpCCElwmpaEGitcIhFefzryoncfvDAdoyIz/p778.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="P778" height="746" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/qltkFCqjkphogAjboEzwzosefmpCCElwmpaEGitcIhFefzryoncfvDAdoyIz/p778.jpg.scaled1000.jpg" width="1000" /></a> <div class='p_see_full_gallery'><a href="http://shannonhandel.posterous.com/just-about-finished">See the full gallery on Posterous</a></div> </div> </p>I'm super excited (and pretty filthy) because the garden is almost finished! <p>Yes, I know it's late in the year to still be doing gardens, but I'll remind you, gentle reader, that the yard wasn't completely closed off until two weeks ago. Plus: this is the first summer I've probably had off since high school. I'm enjoying being lazy for a while.</p></div>Fire and Icehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314249262153714244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-892838459430949126.post-36493320574022992422011-08-15T23:04:00.001-07:002011-08-15T23:04:10.960-07:00I've got an actual, honest to goodness, GARDEN.<div class='posterous_autopost'> <p> </p> <p> 12.00 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 </p> <p>No, gentle reader, you did not hallucinate. I, Shannon H. have a garden. With tomatoes and peppers and brussel sprouts and...flowers. There are actually a number of edible things in the garden...and there are flowers, too. </p> <p>Why is this such a big deal? The mister thinks it will take my mind off of worrying about real life and focus on the minutia of the garden plants. Water them and just zen out for a while. Eat the occasional strawberry...stop and smell the roses...ruffle the lavender plants a bit. You get the idea. In 'real life' I'm quite the worrier: will I be working on contract in the new school year (yes - good. Stop worrying. But it's a bitsy little contract - start worrying again), will we be able to move into our own place next year now that my (fairly sizable) student loan has been paid off? What will happen to my garden when we move away? Will the new people take care of it and love it as much as I do?</p> <p>Do you see what he puts up with? These kinds of thoughts lead me to sleepless nights and stomach aches. However...the garden was a wonderful idea on his part.</p> <p>It got me outside in the fresh air and working up a bit of a sweat while we were putting up a new fence (so I wouldn't have to worry about the llamas, alpaca and donkey tromping around and eating my precious plants):</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-08-15/GaEIvrGjekIDvqhDaEEcfFBdsoEvnptukzJBdsxEoccisxFzqlsvJkupovpG/IMG_6429.JPG.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_6429" height="750" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-08-15/GaEIvrGjekIDvqhDaEEcfFBdsoEvnptukzJBdsxEoccisxFzqlsvJkupovpG/IMG_6429.JPG.scaled1000.jpg" width="1000" /></a> </div> </p> <p> 12.00 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 </p> <p>That's the view from the backyard looking north. The donkey is less than pleased that he has been cut off from his daily brushing now that he can't just come up to the sliding glass door and look in to see if we'd be available for a bit of attention.</p> <p>The mister is not keen on the idea of having rocks as garden skirting (or whatever you want to call it). This is my little garden - the little garden needed more soil. The little garden got more soil and a darling little rock skirting to keep it all in. When he came home and saw my garden (then referred to as my 'poop garden' since I only had llama manure in it because we hadn't finished the most crucial part of the fence that would be directly BESIDE the animals), I asked him if he liked what I had done and that if he hadn't he could lie to me. After an: "I LOVE you," and a shake of the head, that was that.</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-08-15/BFuuzniEszcHhykqCqqwzGddJhBqqpyawgmlEjJkwFCzrdafiboAlslkiGst/Up_to_July_13_2011_025.JPG.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Up_to_july_13_2011_025" height="747" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-08-15/BFuuzniEszcHhykqCqqwzGddJhBqqpyawgmlEjJkwFCzrdafiboAlslkiGst/Up_to_July_13_2011_025.JPG.scaled1000.jpg" width="1000" /></a> </div> It's been coming along - slowly, but surely. I've got my vegetables in the ground and looking rather perky as well as almost two dozen strawberry plants in two 1/2 wine barrels and two black planters...which look remarkably like the office garbage bins from Costco. Four for $9.99. It's basic black - I didn't care what the original plan for the containers was. (Pictures to follow I spruced up the planters since I took the last picture.) I still have to put in the rest of my flowers (more of them keep showing up on my door step. Literallly!), before it is completely finished.</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-08-15/hlccxupsbhfyGrsnwFjyodAsfCipJvAroFjIezfoExHesxeEDcIwxIEvDAez/IMG_6426.JPG.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_6426" height="750" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-08-15/hlccxupsbhfyGrsnwFjyodAsfCipJvAroFjIezfoExHesxeEDcIwxIEvDAez/IMG_6426.JPG.scaled1000.jpg" width="1000" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-08-15/IDdoBJBiDotnDhfDdtihzpewvlBEklIJBazsBsklsdtDFehuigixkglDEtje/IMG_6427.JPG.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_6427" height="750" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-08-15/IDdoBJBiDotnDhfDdtihzpewvlBEklIJBazsBsklsdtDFehuigixkglDEtje/IMG_6427.JPG.scaled1000.jpg" width="1000" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-08-15/bDykfzwxfpirCmzpJjxsEFrrsguilsCJbzigcrwAzmadDnnxdItryFCtxhIE/IMG_6428.JPG.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Img_6428" height="750" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-08-15/bDykfzwxfpirCmzpJjxsEFrrsguilsCJbzigcrwAzmadDnnxdItryFCtxhIE/IMG_6428.JPG.scaled1000.jpg" width="1000" /></a> <div class='p_see_full_gallery'><a href="http://shannonhandel.posterous.com/ive-got-an-actual-honest-to-goodness-garden">See the full gallery on Posterous</a></div> </div> But I can worry about that tomorrow.</p></div>Fire and Icehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314249262153714244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-892838459430949126.post-87098903420363421452011-07-09T22:17:00.001-07:002011-07-09T22:17:48.557-07:00Been a while...<div class='posterous_autopost'><p><span style="color: #000080;">It HAS been a while since I last updated, and I apologize for that. After I finished the SFU's PDP last year, I went into over-drive in trying to find employment in one of the local school districts. No excuse, I know, for not doing anything creative. However, my hard work paid off and I was hired on by Langley as a TOC (Teacher On Call) and actually lucked out enough to land a part-time continuing position as a Computer Explorations teacher at one of the nearby schools. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000080;">What does any of this have to do with doing glass work?</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000080;">Nothing.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000080;">It does, however, have a lot to do with NOT doing glass work. Teaching, please remember, has been a passion of mine LONG before glass was.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000080;">That being said, it's also SUMMER! Summer means that I am out of work (though I did get picked up for another contract in September), and chomping at the bit for creativity!</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="color: #000080;">Nathan and I have been working on the outside of our place when the weather is good and we are able to sock away some time together to get stuff done around here. We have already put up a new gate (the old one was falling apart). We are putting in a garden area just inside the front gate, put up new fencing around the area the llamas and donkey will be most likely to get their lips around something from the garden, new steps to the sliding glass door, planters, planters, planters...you get the picture, right? I snapped a couple quick pictures of the first two planters I put together. I'm pretty happy with the results. I'm a big fan of colour - bright and bold, if possible. <div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-07-09/pAeCmgxICyHjGvrGAwoddeavnGEcuaidemBozDqrqmvHicDwxtqFtJuljIEd/Up_to_July_9_2011_130.JPG.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Up_to_july_9_2011_130" height="669" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-07-09/pAeCmgxICyHjGvrGAwoddeavnGEcuaidemBozDqrqmvHicDwxtqFtJuljIEd/Up_to_July_9_2011_130.JPG.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-07-09/fckDmktevxeanayltjftHykvmkEvwmEllbuiihBrECkltifvmCCtzBHrpJpE/Up_to_July_9_2011_131.JPG.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Up_to_july_9_2011_131" height="669" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-07-09/fckDmktevxeanayltjftHykvmkEvwmEllbuiihBrECkltifvmCCtzBHrpJpE/Up_to_July_9_2011_131.JPG.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <div class='p_see_full_gallery'><a href="http://shannonhandel.posterous.com/been-a-while">See the full gallery on Posterous</a></div> </div> </span></p> <p><span style="color: #000080;">I've also been able to get some torching done recently. Are these all the beads that I've done? Heck no! I haven't had a chance (or the enthusiasm) to get outside and take a bunch of glamour shots of my glass work since I got back into the swing of things. No worries, gentle readers, I will be posting more and more pictures as the summer months progress. For now, please enjoy some eye candy...<div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-07-09/GwirkDJkpwEAypsCrdttlicckfuBvbkodADFHlrtwEektawtIgwkfaownEoc/Up_to_July_9_2011_119.JPG.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Up_to_july_9_2011_119" height="373" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-07-09/GwirkDJkpwEAypsCrdttlicckfuBvbkodADFHlrtwEektawtIgwkfaownEoc/Up_to_July_9_2011_119.JPG.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-07-09/bcdecpCuGoGHdEFsGqhIutDfDmJHitzwlhucBeiAqjAcHcEqcqItcFfdGopv/Up_to_July_9_2011_120.JPG.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Up_to_july_9_2011_120" height="373" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-07-09/bcdecpCuGoGHdEFsGqhIutDfDmJHitzwlhucBeiAqjAcHcEqcqItcFfdGopv/Up_to_July_9_2011_120.JPG.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-07-09/jxnoqzAqjGBdcjikJaobGeiAajqiDsIxjBqlonblJGpjsmzlgnfDrcDftsDm/Up_to_July_9_2011_121.JPG.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Up_to_july_9_2011_121" height="373" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-07-09/jxnoqzAqjGBdcjikJaobGeiAajqiDsIxjBqlonblJGpjsmzlgnfDrcDftsDm/Up_to_July_9_2011_121.JPG.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-07-09/CewxFgnEahkajEClmmphsuGjyDaaAIosdqkJhocnidfGkzdDeECsrDuzfnpF/bhb-sg1.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Bhb-sg1" height="281" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-07-09/CewxFgnEahkajEClmmphsuGjyDaaAIosdqkJhocnidfGkzdDeECsrDuzfnpF/bhb-sg1.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-07-09/jIpyJfHaEobbpuiChvismEIciufjmDdxngahcmcADFzdiejibhiyfBzaesCk/cab_focal_2.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Cab_focal_2" height="566" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-07-09/jIpyJfHaEobbpuiChvismEIciufjmDdxngahcmcADFzdiejibhiyfBzaesCk/cab_focal_2.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-07-09/enHoyGmzpJIivoepvsvclrgpjjCdgwFwymdniAFgHpkkqdjmlpuGbbGpkcEG/cab_set_1a.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Cab_set_1a" height="317" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-07-09/enHoyGmzpJIivoepvsvclrgpjjCdgwFwymdniAFgHpkkqdjmlpuGbbGpkcEG/cab_set_1a.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-07-09/mlqtEJyakGmsDeGulezroItHBrCDxCummpgcmmkcHgfHdlDcxGqobrxgaqwD/cab_set_2.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Cab_set_2" height="291" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-07-09/mlqtEJyakGmsDeGulezroItHBrCDxCummpgcmmkcHgfHdlDcxGqobrxgaqwD/cab_set_2.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-07-09/xwDrfgdzIIuvvfGpcstFazpeGvxipIgHunuhnJEsvsAtdqsFqbGcDvEvuzkf/webbing_1.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Webbing_1" height="357" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-07-09/xwDrfgdzIIuvvfGpcstFazpeGvxipIgHunuhnJEsvsAtdqsFqbGcDvEvuzkf/webbing_1.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <div class='p_see_full_gallery'><a href="http://shannonhandel.posterous.com/been-a-while">See the full gallery on Posterous</a></div> </div> I've found a great affection for Double Helix's silvered glass. It's expensive, but it does the NEATEST things, especially if used sparingly.<br /></span></p></div>Fire and Icehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314249262153714244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-892838459430949126.post-51760366080028153612011-02-18T13:25:00.001-08:002011-02-18T13:25:38.166-08:00Pro-D Day<div class='posterous_autopost'>1st session = could have slept in. <br />2nd session = got a bunch of good math resources. <br />3rd session = bit of a rehash of basic blogging but helpful until LSS Internet quit and we couldn't move forward. <p>1/3 of the day wasn't a waste. </p><p>Congratulations.</p></div>Fire and Icehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314249262153714244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-892838459430949126.post-19123430323979675052010-11-09T17:33:00.001-08:002010-11-09T17:33:09.290-08:00LA LA Land<div class='posterous_autopost'><p><a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/FJkrydCEHgCosElbIalyiduwuFeyaDCrdodHegICpHeyEdozBjkIbyhICsdj/p710.jpg.scaled1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/FJkrydCEHgCosElbIalyiduwuFeyaDCrdodHegICpHeyEdozBjkIbyhICsdj/p710.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" height="670"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/sJnEIhgEqCpGhEqxmsEhIJJHEjlsmdJugrigmIjiJIwFbpgCHrgdhJadIDdB/p726.jpg.scaled1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/sJnEIhgEqCpGhEqxmsEhIJJHEjlsmdJugrigmIjiJIwFbpgCHrgdhJadIDdB/p726.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" height="373"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/EGDCdwatFEApkEjxnCIBoxHrbEAGGfGjJduHAxIwozBrpikCDxgCedJgfiGx/p724.jpg.scaled1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/EGDCdwatFEApkEjxnCIBoxHrbEAGGfGjJduHAxIwozBrpikCDxgCedJgfiGx/p724.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" height="373"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/BplptpltHeIahxIcxBJxampHamhHvCgECJopucHEbpazcsJhwrAyknnmpIzc/p722.jpg.scaled1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/BplptpltHeIahxIcxBJxampHamhHvCgECJopucHEbpazcsJhwrAyknnmpIzc/p722.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" height="373"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/kcBFajIiztrEAfuhjIiDwxCEluDgrtbklAesijAvclvCdwnohJwGDzAHGfsG/p720.jpg.scaled1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/kcBFajIiztrEAfuhjIiDwxCEluDgrtbklAesijAvclvCdwnohJwGDzAHGfsG/p720.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" height="373"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/tEhcxlxsadcgzcnHHqcBrvzqgqrDiCsznjAGJrvAHgpHhroHylhhpvhzwfgh/p718.jpg.scaled1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/tEhcxlxsadcgzcnHHqcBrvzqgqrDiCsznjAGJrvAHgpHhroHylhhpvhzwfgh/p718.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" height="670"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/CtwqjAuctJwvCvDIhAgmqickegrIBqrwvrnpdoBFkdEElnFhviFAkpnFaxfc/p716.jpg.scaled1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/CtwqjAuctJwvCvDIhAgmqickegrIBqrwvrnpdoBFkdEElnFhviFAkpnFaxfc/p716.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" height="373"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/iiFftiDgraDwpjDrydekvelDoImqFJtEabgqCiurntfkvyDsyaFFxFCmnkIo/p714.jpg.scaled1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/iiFftiDgraDwpjDrydekvelDoImqFJtEabgqCiurntfkvyDsyaFFxFCmnkIo/p714.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" height="373"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/IsCwvCbajxywAmhozhsIDEznBqodkcCAGsgeforxkBHhABpAohJybdFCfGfD/p738.jpg.scaled1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/IsCwvCbajxywAmhozhsIDEznBqodkcCAGsgeforxkBHhABpAohJybdFCfGfD/p738.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" height="373"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/qHkpvauDDDnjrIiEJJpDlgljpmowtnmtdeBosigICDzAxtxDhpfiChCCrDvr/p736.jpg.scaled1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/qHkpvauDDDnjrIiEJJpDlgljpmowtnmtdeBosigICDzAxtxDhpfiChCCrDvr/p736.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" height="373"/></a> <img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/ubktDGCHmBgtyCjfgiqAxnHAfAEaxdpzBkmHIdgwbAjcmrmfEnJizttcuhmw/p734.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="480" height="640"/> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/htkHwmurrffJHChEkaqCkbcfnItkfJqhEgIxounlfonEGHtFGpzmEwDtefFq/p732.jpg.scaled1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/htkHwmurrffJHChEkaqCkbcfnItkfJqhEgIxounlfonEGHtFGpzmEwDtefFq/p732.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" height="670"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/ncFmnGesomxbaEhprdtdtteubvGbsAdiEikpujgbsjxgBtbbBngereombhsd/p730.jpg.scaled1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/ncFmnGesomxbaEhprdtdtteubvGbsAdiEikpujgbsjxgBtbbBngereombhsd/p730.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" height="670"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/eBaeavAvIiDtEnFbFuvwAwxlxftputkkHCmEjzsnnHjAxietvbicJzEFcHaa/p712.jpg.scaled1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/eBaeavAvIiDtEnFbFuvwAwxlxftputkkHCmEjzsnnHjAxietvbicJzEFcHaa/p712.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" height="670"/></a> <a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/HnBBjosreDguccoEzwiIFoipFktzFctrGpvxnptzBcIjyuyaBsBuHzimJggC/p728.jpg.scaled1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/shannonhandel/HnBBjosreDguccoEzwiIFoipFktzFctrGpvxnptzBcIjyuyaBsBuHzimJggC/p728.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" height="670"/></a> <div><a href='http://shannonhandel.posterous.com/la-la-land'>See and download the full gallery on posterous</a></div></p></div>Fire and Icehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314249262153714244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-892838459430949126.post-61924937791653598652010-11-03T00:01:00.001-07:002010-11-03T00:01:07.286-07:00Dance Dance!<div class='posterous_autopost'></div>Fire and Icehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314249262153714244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-892838459430949126.post-73794444262650167452010-07-01T14:30:00.000-07:002010-07-01T17:20:28.342-07:00Part 1 of writing project that isn't about writing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So...this is the wacky mini-project that we were supposed to do in my writing class last week. This is, I assume, going to lead up to the destruction of a perfectly good book. Unless I use a Twilight book...then I could give the reason for choosing that book as I didn't feel guilty about destroying it...might have even improved it.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqu-1sGOXTWGnhS-jEO3iQOr-a_WxIahirLeo0yA4KAP-fZVw_sUAnzxBuC8c00iuP620p7oG9BH-NMfghgl7r0dXWWg6eAYgGxD808EBVhn8DH4nGmtgT_WYvr0anOu9Cpn4gmLFerOKd/s400/IMG_4501.JPG" width="400" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFCcYq4KUj4kxOQFLCakeQv0FMXJmu_Z2DrxWo-4Zriwp1BDXD6q-qMOHxVtm7Q9N3LLhHkl6LMsyGcR3T4o9w2Q6B2ZDI-731cVf2feCzXly8qX2QicTRMZaqM8J640xeUGvDall6QLT2/s1600/IMG_4503.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFCcYq4KUj4kxOQFLCakeQv0FMXJmu_Z2DrxWo-4Zriwp1BDXD6q-qMOHxVtm7Q9N3LLhHkl6LMsyGcR3T4o9w2Q6B2ZDI-731cVf2feCzXly8qX2QicTRMZaqM8J640xeUGvDall6QLT2/s200/IMG_4503.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuSx5tuefNsPcRw4DA5hwVKWeeNFzPZKITjMO6X4yNcL5-MgkkTooKJUO49Bmlux6N3VsNOH65tmnw44vuiTAEt30Q45QZKBbGOY1WAYptJVXZlQ_BAob_R2gGfzW9burJRO8f8DrwVhFF/s1600/IMG_4507.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuSx5tuefNsPcRw4DA5hwVKWeeNFzPZKITjMO6X4yNcL5-MgkkTooKJUO49Bmlux6N3VsNOH65tmnw44vuiTAEt30Q45QZKBbGOY1WAYptJVXZlQ_BAob_R2gGfzW9burJRO8f8DrwVhFF/s200/IMG_4507.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9SuY6qqfy1eQdQwXXfcDDZbcVkyehyphenhyphenfL1GXT7oV6zN0F8bW3cws5l_9s5WNx7cmirqJgf4R8D24Jc7NE_tPKEQX5gpISVKgPFecm20Uf-gBCBHyKI9zUuFPmqdXU_HW_kjhz0ZmcOFktd/s1600/IMG_4505.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9SuY6qqfy1eQdQwXXfcDDZbcVkyehyphenhyphenfL1GXT7oV6zN0F8bW3cws5l_9s5WNx7cmirqJgf4R8D24Jc7NE_tPKEQX5gpISVKgPFecm20Uf-gBCBHyKI9zUuFPmqdXU_HW_kjhz0ZmcOFktd/s200/IMG_4505.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSkMgb4-FXpoXxcuXa4xhwzJftVVuupkx1iJ71yo9Mlmr574wYD96uANCUifA6F4SYyvirbZQJmL8ENDF4JPARp2kNsceb6oO4qGwTxySinoNJpldcJOHXY9ZECtFa7thGIPJMcEauQB2/s1600/IMG_4504.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSkMgb4-FXpoXxcuXa4xhwzJftVVuupkx1iJ71yo9Mlmr574wYD96uANCUifA6F4SYyvirbZQJmL8ENDF4JPARp2kNsceb6oO4qGwTxySinoNJpldcJOHXY9ZECtFa7thGIPJMcEauQB2/s200/IMG_4504.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEija-9O-bQGe2isboiXMoshIAuApcZ62z-SNt4XVNVBDFG8-8zOgDCUtkEu98nFnqz2JjchdHRgBpLN3_VlRw0RDAqWJ_9lpXvQG9B3pkN65JxpoPXWI0CT8A8EF1EQjjRKnGYNZTvaYjHY/s200/IMG_4506.JPG" width="150" /></div>Fire and Icehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314249262153714244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-892838459430949126.post-51498965010929902852010-06-30T11:31:00.000-07:002010-06-30T11:31:28.634-07:00Character Sketch: Henry (though if you watched WB network in the late 90's...)<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-GB">He sat facing the door to the coffee shop with his tea placed in the middle of the coaster. Occasionally he would glance down at his watch, look around, then pick up the cup and take a sip, grimacing at the taste every time. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-GB">He was young looking for his age which I guessed to be around forty; his tweed jacket purposely hung over the back of his chain, his faded jeans well worn below his crisp Oxford style button up grey shirt with the top button open. His hair was clean and short with a hint of salt-and-pepper. His face was clean –shaven and tense – his mouth tight and his eyebrows drawn together. He began to reach for the pocket of his jacket when the bell above the door rang, announcing another patron’s entrance.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-GB"> When he saw who it was, the tenseness left his face. He stood up to greet the young woman who just stepped out of the sun and into the shade of the cafe. She was probably younger than him by twenty years – he carefully held her hand for a moment before they sat down together. Both were quiet for a moment with several false starts at speaking where he would open his mouth, body tense, then stop and look away for a moment before starting again.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-GB">“I don’t suppose I can make you change your mind?” he asked gently with a clipped accent he either inherited from his parents or from living across the pond then moving here.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-GB">“No, you really can’t,” she replied, her breath sighing out of her as if she was resigned to talking on a subject that was old news. “Honestly, Henry, we’ve been over this and I’ve made up my mind.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-GB">“I really wish you would call me ‘Dad’ or something,” he said quietly while taking another deliberate sip of tea, perhaps to gather his thoughts, his eyes downward cast.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-GB">“Well if you acted like my dad instead of...look, we’re happy. I’m happy,” she began then huffed out a frustrated breath when the man across from her took off his glasses and began to polish the spotless lenses with a handkerchief he pulled out of his jeans pocket. “Would you stop doing that?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-GB">“Doing what?” he asked as he continued to clean his glasses.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-GB">“That thing where you don’t want to see what’s going on so you polish your glasses. Just stop it, okay?” she asked as she reached across the small table and gently grabbed his hands in hers. “We’re moving to where his work is, and I’m sorry that means that I won’t be around to see you as much. I’m also sorry it’s in Saskatchewan because I’ve heard what the weather there can be like. But...we’re working on building our lives together. His contract will be up for renewal with the company in two years.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-GB">He nodded, lost in thought. He looked at her but it was as though from far away, looking through time, eyes glassy and distant. “It’s just...” he began then stopped, taking a breath and clasping hands together for want of something to do with them. “It’s just...since your mother...” he was now looking at <i>her</i> instead of a ghost, “now that she’s gone; you’re the only family I have.” He offered a stiff-upper-lip smile and busied himself with another sip of tea that didn’t meet his standards.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-GB">“I know, Henry, but can’t you see that I’m trying to make a family of my own with Will? You’re not going to be cut out of it, but we need some time to get our bearings, to figure out if we can really make it together. It’s like with you and Mom,” she said as she sat back in the chair. “You followed her from England to here...how could I possibly be your daughter and not follow Will to Saskatchewan?” A twinkle in her eyes betrayed a smile. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-GB">Henry looked at her with his glasses held by a stem in one hand. His eyes were lightning blue as they studied her face for a long moment. She stared right back with that not-quite-a-smile. Then he exhaled and placed his glasses back on his nose, looking through them at the young woman.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-GB">“Well, we should go pick some things up like extra blankets and those fuzzy socks you like.” He clapped his hands to his knees and stood up, one hand held out to his daughter. Then he turned and scooped up his coat, spinning it around his shoulders and sticking his arms into the sleeves. He offered his daughter his arm and she took it with a relieved smile. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="EN-GB">He looked at her sternly over his glasses. “And bug spray,” his face relaxed and a hint of a smile appeared at the corners of his mouth, “I hear the mosquitoes out there are the size of cats.”</span></div>Fire and Icehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314249262153714244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-892838459430949126.post-24059811713872590502010-06-30T11:27:00.000-07:002010-06-30T11:27:44.279-07:00Character Sketch...some might recognize her...<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Character #1</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I turned and she was there, her appearance severe from her head to her toes. She was speaking to a group of about five people at the party that she had helped create the need for with poor management skills. Several people were saying ‘goodbye’ to a company they had worked at for over thirty years since she had stuck her oar in the water last year when the board hired her. </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">She had incredibly tightly curled hair that didn’t tumble elegantly so much as it maintained its defiance of gravity in a perfectly inverted ‘U’ shape around her head. She wore pristine ironed gray pants suit with two strands of pearls around her neck, one longer than the other. Her shoes were pointed and ridiculously thin with a heel that gave her the slightest height advantage, as though she had always wanted to be just a little taller than she was.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Her eyes were lifeless and cold as those of a dead fish. When she introduced herself to someone she would smile, which was particularly horrible since her enormous teeth would hold the words she was saying prisoner by never opening up. I watched her ooze around the room with dainty calculated steps, person to person to person. </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">“Ah, hello, this is...” someone would start.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">“Oh, yes, it’s so nice to meet you...” or did she mean ‘eat you?’ I couldn't listen to the rest – I was mesmerized by the lack of warmth and genuine emotion on her face. Was she aware that every move she made looked contrived and false? She would smile that shark smile, but it would never reach her eyes. She would keep her teeth clenched together when she spoke to someone, those lips pulled back from the chompers as far as she could get them. Her eyes would roam over their faces briefly then return to their lifeless state. The entire time she would spend with someone would subject them to that unaltered smile of false promises that she was happy to be there.</div>Fire and Icehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314249262153714244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-892838459430949126.post-9170598739423505042010-06-30T11:23:00.001-07:002010-10-06T14:45:19.409-07:00Progress? More Like ' I Question Everything About this Course' RantTuesday, June 29, 2010<br />
<br />
Tonight I read ahead in the course material – glanced through to the end to see what was in store for me, you know? I can’t say that I’m too impressed with the idea of having to go out and buy a book in order to (essentially) destroy it. I’m not comfortable with that. I would liken that to book burnings or the defiling of art pieces. I’m not comfortable with compromising my beliefs (that books are to be treasured because they are words written by people in time who had something to say, be it good or bad) and I’m not sure what scrap-booking has to do with a writing class. I’m not comfortable with any of this last assignment.<br />
<br />
Why do I have to go out and purchase someone’s book in order to destroy it? And I’m certainly not going to use one of MY books for this project – there’s a reason why I buy the books I buy and there’s a reason why I keep them (and in pretty darn good condition, too).<br />
<br />
I find more and more with this course that I am falling into the abyss of apathy – my group mates do not comment on anything I post and I, in turn, do not feel all that inclined to post responses to anything they put in the forums. This was one of the concerns I had from the start with this course, especially when the Tutor Marker doesn’t check anything during the weekend, a time that I believe most of us are finally able to sit down and crank out the work and be in the position to request feedback.<br />
<br />
I know I’m being critical, but at this point, for the amount of money I’ve dished out (honestly, how does the government expect to get students fresh out of high school in this economy that they have allowed to backslide to this point into post secondary for more than a semester before they cannot afford to take classes?!) and the level of the course itself, I expected a lot more out of it. Dozens of times I have logged on to check and see if anyone had posted to something I’d put into the forums to generate discussion, only to see that nothing had been added…or the fact that there is the resource of having a chat room that no one goes into. It’s…sad.<br />
<br />
Tomorrow I begin a new intersession for my Education 471 class: Curriculum. It should be interesting to see what happens as it’s an evening course and we can be expected to have up to 50% of our grades based on attendance and in-class responses to whatever is going on. I am wondering how strenuous this new course will be in comparison to this course or my EDUC 475 course with Peter.<br />
<br />
On a very positive note (and one that will hopefully continue to be positive, please, please, please!), I am going to be getting an interview with Langley school board soon. This means I have to finish my portfolio (7/12ths there!) and start practicing my responses to possible questions. I don’t want to, but I know I will inevitably stress myself out over this – my only hope is that I don’t stress too much and I get into the district. Everyone I have told has been of the opinion that Langley isn’t hiring…here’s hoping I’m the exception to the rule.<br />
<br />
I’m also hoping that this good news pulls me out of the funk that I have gotten into these last few weeks. I haven’t felt like I’ve made any progress (mostly in a personal way, not so much with my writing as I’m confident I’m ‘getting’ the assignments) so I haven’t felt like I’ve been worthy to write in my progress log. Little accomplishments like doing well on my math problem log and the group problem assignment help boost my confidence that I can do this, and getting a reflection of a good mark for a good writing piece (‘Henry’) helps, too. It’s tough to be more than half way through a course and not be more than 20% of the marks, though.Fire and Icehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314249262153714244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-892838459430949126.post-29938393610693871042010-06-29T00:51:00.000-07:002010-06-29T00:51:00.786-07:00Really?<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I'm taking this online writing course - it's 8 credits (no, I didn't hit the wrong key, it's really 8 credits. Believe me, it hassle enough for 8 credits). One of the BIG final projects for the WRITING class?</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Basically, a scrapbook that tells a story. </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">'Seriously?' you're saying.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> 'Yes,' says I, 'that's the sad reality of it.'</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I have next to NO idea how to do scrap-booking, so I'm really hoping that I'm not penalized for my lack of enthusiasm in this. </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Did I mention that I have to DESTROY a BOOK to do this?</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Yes, gentle reader, I have to destroy a book in order to complete this assignment. I can't just take any old book and ruin it by painting, pasting and befouling it - no, NO! It has to be a book with MEANING for me. </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Really? How about I video tape me burning it instead? That would hold more significance than be ruining it any other way.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </div>Fire and Icehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314249262153714244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-892838459430949126.post-65549055191141686722010-06-26T13:19:00.000-07:002010-06-26T13:19:49.653-07:00Ten Years Already?<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I'm not entirely sure how it happened, but I'm going to my 10 year reunion. I hear that there will be about 50 people there, including their dates/spouses. Should be interesting to see who shows up. I would be spending the night at home doing schooly stuff or *gasp* some glass work, but as Nathan is a social butterfly and this means something to him, I'm going.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">At least I'll have Bre there to talk with, and Darryl and Carly are always up for conversation. I imaging Nathan will be circulating amongst the crowd, talking to people he will assure me graduated with us.</span>Fire and Icehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314249262153714244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-892838459430949126.post-69794073683985705692010-06-21T23:16:00.000-07:002010-06-21T23:16:23.625-07:00Lots happened!<ul><li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I got married</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We had a reception in a ridiculous heat wave! </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The store I worked at was robbed while I was there</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My sister got married</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My friend from the store who was working with me the day it was robbed died</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My best friend since grade 4 got married</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Nathan's best friend got married</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I drove up to PG to visit Nikki and emotionally detox </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I started SFU's PDP and absolutely immersed myself into it to get away from the rest of my stresses</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I got through my 405 semester with flying sparkly colours</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I'm still gainfully unemployed even though I got stellar reviews from my FA and SA</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Nathan's dad wants us to go up to Quesnel for a weekend to check a couple of his places out.</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> In the ENTIRE time I have been doing PDP, I haven't TOUCHED my torch...it's sitting there collecting dust and glaring its little eyes at me...all seven of them. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I really should be doing the finishing touches on my math right now but I just needed to write some stuff down...so there.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHAo1ej7jjfODUeAoPCgbQsu4ZyaJSyyJC_yneVAmRdcCtO9rpDD6naTOTV39JZ0VNciL6-6DZjvTnQFkDDQq37lhFCTJTk4fOczNi0fx4gOGGcmoNdgVT3Y1L6RuBXKmqdqcTx9lD88hG/s1600/IMG00221.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHAo1ej7jjfODUeAoPCgbQsu4ZyaJSyyJC_yneVAmRdcCtO9rpDD6naTOTV39JZ0VNciL6-6DZjvTnQFkDDQq37lhFCTJTk4fOczNi0fx4gOGGcmoNdgVT3Y1L6RuBXKmqdqcTx9lD88hG/s320/IMG00221.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Our super awesome pattern block fun activity results! I love my EDUC 475 class!!</div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</span>Fire and Icehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314249262153714244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-892838459430949126.post-67804677832553248462009-07-14T13:39:00.000-07:002009-07-14T13:46:38.212-07:00Newest addition<div style="text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Nathan and I don't have children - we have plants.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">So far we have three boys: Mortimer (Nathan's fuzzy cactus and tiny aloe plant with lots of leaves), Reginald (a medicinal Aloe I got a few months ago) and Winthorp (an aloe plant Bre gifted to me and I adopted on the spot at my bridal shower). There was just one thing missing: a girly plant.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">So...I present to you, Abigail!</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho0NjFaTpprghHkdiR2y_wkXdMZvF4cD_QP2dKTVNH1g9CSVJnIKWOSQSP-o5GVBEwql3dNEYJkD5ZfZB1vHtpzk4rFRYCn0EzQ0I1Yihuw38-NqNj0raFlfoORGa6SkEMClnPMep_olQK/s1600-h/IMG_1660.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho0NjFaTpprghHkdiR2y_wkXdMZvF4cD_QP2dKTVNH1g9CSVJnIKWOSQSP-o5GVBEwql3dNEYJkD5ZfZB1vHtpzk4rFRYCn0EzQ0I1Yihuw38-NqNj0raFlfoORGa6SkEMClnPMep_olQK/s320/IMG_1660.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358419867368737186" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgACmdiXwP5NW4OML4-hs3kGuIRV1SVsUKqCKxJ0zYQvUmS-apUjbspIqc-U-Wvnym58Vmioi8ojxwBSmJLQ8nAEsW8iDjG7WPCvLiK8RzHmvszXvhE9pifNcPpb98o8q92d6GGb9-I30xr/s1600-h/IMG_1659.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgACmdiXwP5NW4OML4-hs3kGuIRV1SVsUKqCKxJ0zYQvUmS-apUjbspIqc-U-Wvnym58Vmioi8ojxwBSmJLQ8nAEsW8iDjG7WPCvLiK8RzHmvszXvhE9pifNcPpb98o8q92d6GGb9-I30xr/s320/IMG_1659.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358419861570341538" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBTsi00o27Rlxzkfpd1OOWxJiOJ2-HTG-Ze31wXDGWxbU1uK8Iw6IN2FQz8XYy29-5bpDcBKSpyYMz76PeicWm4fS8xPTh2pKtPCkuX_UWINr3AKowV91NuiYB5DD3MEB3ZJFgpVdhnQ69/s1600-h/IMG_1658.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBTsi00o27Rlxzkfpd1OOWxJiOJ2-HTG-Ze31wXDGWxbU1uK8Iw6IN2FQz8XYy29-5bpDcBKSpyYMz76PeicWm4fS8xPTh2pKtPCkuX_UWINr3AKowV91NuiYB5DD3MEB3ZJFgpVdhnQ69/s320/IMG_1658.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358419855039051314" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div>Fire and Icehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314249262153714244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-892838459430949126.post-15091648588577833822009-07-10T14:54:00.000-07:002009-07-10T15:00:26.374-07:00Married Life<a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP0uEe84y0TN-rDPd6faYXJs_5NHf0jFR1lpj-030E6JGs1FeAcGxUJxZyuNFc7x2gAB-NS9La8UxN3k_AmEozOh3j2SNAyw7r2G6Tiloski4HMDOwky10DQYS_KDx0XWLWFiGkSzTu03T/s1600-h/P5230170.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 194px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP0uEe84y0TN-rDPd6faYXJs_5NHf0jFR1lpj-030E6JGs1FeAcGxUJxZyuNFc7x2gAB-NS9La8UxN3k_AmEozOh3j2SNAyw7r2G6Tiloski4HMDOwky10DQYS_KDx0XWLWFiGkSzTu03T/s320/P5230170.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356954567616294418" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">So far, so good.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">And by good I mean okay but could be better because I barely see him.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">We're both busy, but at separate times, which is kind of lousy :(</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">On the plus side, the reception is coming up in a couple weeks and we'll get to see some familiar faces :)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Also, the day before the reception Nathan and I are goin to a mutual friend's wedding where (and I've been told by the bride-to-be herself) Corban is going to be dressed in drag...as a bride's maid. I might have to buy extra batteries for my camera.</span>Fire and Icehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314249262153714244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-892838459430949126.post-11525171517555293872009-05-06T15:46:00.000-07:002009-05-06T17:09:21.960-07:00Count Down...less than 3 WEEKS!!<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">AAAAHHHHH</span>!!! Where is the time GOING?</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Less than 3 weeks to the wedding....can that be RIGHT?</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I can't believe that the time is going by so quickly. </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong>Okay - LIST!</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Location: booked and paid for</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Rings: Both here, paid for and ready to go</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Commissioner: booked and the meeting went great (when we walked into her office, Nathan saw we'd interrupted her game of W.O.W.)</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Vows and ceremony: re-re-written from original to reflect Nathan and myself and to make the ceremony last more than 5 minutes</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Marriage licence: purchased...<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">mwahahaha</span>.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Dress: DONE!</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><strong>Things to still do:</strong></span><br /><strong><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span></strong><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">E-mail our <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">commish</span> the re-worked vows</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Get Nathan going on ordering the flowers so he can make my bouquet (and HOW excited am I that he's cool with this? You have NO idea!)</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Figuring out what to do afterwards - Mom has suggested an afternoon 'Tea' so we don't have to worry about doing dinner, and more importantly, drinking</span>Fire and Icehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314249262153714244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-892838459430949126.post-64675595858415008142009-04-09T12:05:00.000-07:002009-04-09T16:05:06.945-07:00What I did on my birthday!<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Hahaha....a whole lot of 'not much'.<br /></span><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I woke Nathan up, then went back to sleep for a whopping hour! Then I got up, had my Frosted Mini-Wheats, and sat around reading for a bit. Then I got dressed, played with the puppies for a while and went and torched for a bit:</span></div><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322827838596131186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 199px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidRGVPLJBBQaYBe00R4ULu_lvJuDwAvVxoZBKuv1y66EquncQWC2kIaS29tVcpF02YSFSilbEqfLlXdwPNvEOxeKqtkmk5dnywB_dJtPnasl9rmgXmcDz_ob-XpTJ0WL0qnDLCUNuX7wYN/s200/IMG_0877+copy.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322827842604121666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 178px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitApelGWyW3HKEUIJENlssqHvnjjGRbllB2PMzdhYv-G_eI71bi94aUyna05R_Gv1iYWPz2NyOs820bkb5K2Nvxey2tD2Wr6dvLfXUyQyIpdTuU1J3bhyCNeE2XSlgRz1htiWr_tFzR45c/s200/IMG_0870+copy.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /></span><div></div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322828231035748786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 176px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM-23zVsEuEGOjiIGe1WXVfrBzR8kmQnRf5DiIyrkr7sOlGIGdAq-swR9w_4afc-wQ8y8RWL7PYgC4wJhFznvB7wNatlqhJHkMEJLhdggvXvNJWHZpkjgoe_bTyIhx4K-cFSutl_geUK-m/s200/IMG_0875+copy.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322827839971180562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 161px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_JhYNAP6VeJe1SLaUq6UT2H4JTGSwXVdnPSHZyiG9kWRZOCyukdqSQSE6COEc5rYIoeBjOxH7E4AKVlH3lRfutHaEyDxZF_P3C4Ekg4rulbklFFqG9-H3U2EoOgDp03cuZ7lBttTLxag4/s200/IMG_0872+copy.jpg" border="0" /><br /></span><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">After I torched, I toddled over to the couch (aka 'Giant Cat Bed') and watched 'Enchanted'. Nathan came in for the opening credits and justed looked at me like I was an insane three year old. Then he came and watched it with me :D</span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Then we went and had all-you-can-eat sushi with Peter and Reena...nummy goodness that lead to rolling. </span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Fire and Icehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314249262153714244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-892838459430949126.post-89354110236765698592009-04-07T12:51:00.000-07:002009-04-07T12:56:15.236-07:00Nathan's ring is readyThank goodness!<br /><br />And it weighs a ton...well, not a ton, but more than 1/2 ounce.<br /><br />And you can't tell from the picture, but the red gold (not pink, or rose, or strawberry, but RED...because it's manly) in the middle band is colour by my blood, sweat and tears.<br /><br />Not really, but it sounded good.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheXjy84hNCIO-erAWRqSIH26TB2FAuvciZuCn4UsnAObOpHuILJ8oKnMOjxsdDR4jTT8MlhHb6dyE9banB_XfamuOMLaVnAjaZkC7vCiTWjofUTaMGAHwpmgYFsp_rYrtBh3nlSY8NUSfA/s1600-h/IMG_0768.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 153px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheXjy84hNCIO-erAWRqSIH26TB2FAuvciZuCn4UsnAObOpHuILJ8oKnMOjxsdDR4jTT8MlhHb6dyE9banB_XfamuOMLaVnAjaZkC7vCiTWjofUTaMGAHwpmgYFsp_rYrtBh3nlSY8NUSfA/s200/IMG_0768.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322040523269034498" border="0" /></a><br />11.0mm wide, 2.0mm thick...and it even fit him as a bonus.<br /></div>Fire and Icehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314249262153714244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-892838459430949126.post-2543950478621605582009-04-07T11:26:00.000-07:002009-04-07T12:50:30.635-07:00My Monday<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">My <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Monday</span> began as many have...<br /><br />Alarm goes off at 5:40am to wake Nathan up. Roll over to wake Nathan up. Make Nathan get up out of bed. Go back to sleep for a few hours. Get up around 9, go into the kitchen to do the dishes. Putter around, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">FaceBook</span>, return e-mails, get a late <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">brekky</span> and get ready to go out to grocery shop. Go to open the door to find that I've got mail from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">UFV</span> (asses) to celebrate that I've been accepted into their program (thanks, but no thanks...please see previous comment of 'asses'). Go over to the house to tell Mom that I got in to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">UFV</span>, too (still waiting to hear from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">SFU</span> *fingers crossed!!*). No mom in house. Ask Kim (contractor fella) where she is. 'She said something about an alpaca being down.' Oh boy. Go out to the barn. Yup, alpaca down. But not just ANY alpaca, it's Toaster, the brave little alpaca that broke her leg about a year and a half ago. She'd gotten down in the mud and couldn't get herself out. So Mom and I take her into the new bathroom in the back of the house (much to protestations from Brant...who <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">ingratiated</span> himself with kind words like 'Shut up, Shannon' when I told the dogs to get away from the freaked out, nearly dead alpaca. Yeah, he's a winner.) and set about to getting her warm and cleaned off. In short, took a few hours (and a *cough* bad hair cut *cough*) but in the end she was a very happy, grateful Toaster.</span><br /><br />Yup...typical Monday.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglVEwOzsP3A9ysS5kRhy380QZ9UPtqJspxWSyp3MI3LTU6LtwoN0rm5D0A-0xEUFVfMH05jV9bRUkPdypUBT2rOtuOhw7yYPK97S9ubkFZZxt8gLsl-ybYh_bjz6nNfFm3cExRHqUBH2yd/s1600-h/IMG_0861.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglVEwOzsP3A9ysS5kRhy380QZ9UPtqJspxWSyp3MI3LTU6LtwoN0rm5D0A-0xEUFVfMH05jV9bRUkPdypUBT2rOtuOhw7yYPK97S9ubkFZZxt8gLsl-ybYh_bjz6nNfFm3cExRHqUBH2yd/s200/IMG_0861.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322038826091155314" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Brave Little Toaster with her really bad hair cut...sorry Toaster!<br /></div>Fire and Icehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314249262153714244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-892838459430949126.post-77721288620548979662009-04-05T12:05:00.000-07:002009-04-05T12:41:05.917-07:00Update!<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">So...yesterday was fairly eventful:</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Helped mom feed the puppies! (Going to be posting some pics later, but until I do you can see them at: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/standardpoodlesRfun">http://www.youtube.com/user/standardpoodlesRfun</a> )</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Unpacked the kiln!!! You all have no idea how exciting this was - I got it for my grad prezzie about 2 years ago and have been afraid to unpack it and haul it around from location to location, risking damage every time it's moved. I even programmed the digital controller....I think.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Had the new mattress delivered. The box spring with the mattress on top on my bed frame brings it to about butt height. If I sit on it with my legs hanging over the edge my feet dangle about 8 inches off the ground. Makes me feel like a little kid! :D</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">Washed, dried, folded and put away about 7 loads of laundry.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">And where, gentle reader, was Nathan in all this?</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;">At his second stag with the 'guys' (and his 8 year old nephew), which turned into an all-nighter (well, almost and all-nighter), or so I assumed since Nathan DIDN'T CALL to let me know he wasn't dead in a ditch somewhere. So I'm making brekky today, wandering around kind of pissed off and making a bit of noise, when for whatever reason I poked my head around the corner into the living room. There was Nathan, sound asleep on the couch. He must have gone through the living room door because at about 3 this morning I went and locked the other two, thinking he was going to be out for the rest of the night and I didn't want to be murdered in my sleep and stain my brand new bed with the gore. I took a good look at him and asked what was wrong with his mouth - he peered into the mirror and said it was lipstick. Now, here's where it gets a bit strange: I didn't even *think* it was lipstick from another woman. The first thought that entered my head was 'oh dear gods, what did they make him dress up in last night and where did they parade him?' Turns out the RED lipstick was meant to go with a cute purple number they dressed him up in...with a purple purse to complete the ensemble.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"><strong>LIST OF THINGS FOR WEDDING!:</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Location: booked and paid for</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Rings: Both here, just need to do the paperwork so they can be paid for</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Commissioner: booked and the meeting went great (when we walked into her office, Nathan saw we'd interrupted her game of W.O.W.)</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Vows and ceremony: re-re-written from original to reflect Nathan and myself and to make the ceremony last more than 5 minutes</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Marriage licence: purchased...mwahahaha.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Dress: DONE!</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Things to still do:</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Book apres-ceremony eaty place </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Inform guests as to the when/where parts</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">NOT PANIC...still working on that one.</span>Fire and Icehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314249262153714244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-892838459430949126.post-36324096979644575672009-03-25T11:57:00.000-07:002009-03-25T12:07:33.737-07:00Saturday....getting closer!ANOTHER little step coming up.<br /><br />Nathan and I are meeting with our marriage commissioner this Saturday. <br /><br />Checklist so far:<br /><br />Location: booked and paid for<br />Rings: mine is ready and his has been ordered...again<br />Commissioner: booked and meeting with her this weekend<br />Vows and ceremony: re-written from original to reflect Nathan and myself<br />Marriage licence: purchased...<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">mwahahaha</span>.<br /><br />Things to still do:<br />Dress: so far the hunt has been an epic fail<br />Book <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">apres</span>-ceremony <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">eaty</span> place<br />Inform guests as to the when/where parts<br />NOT PANIC...still working on that one.<br /><br />As most of you know...I went and had my interview with the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">TEP</span> people for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">UFV</span> yesterday. Came home *very* depressed and basically went to bed for the night at about 1pm.<br /><br />I still have yet to hear back from the other schools I've applied to, which is a bit disheartening. This leaves me slogging through work and stumbling through the days in a cloud of sad confusion. I hate waiting.Fire and Icehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314249262153714244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-892838459430949126.post-53597691801315221162009-03-20T12:43:00.000-07:002010-06-19T00:40:19.444-07:00Taking deep breaths...and little steps...Good advice was given - take a deep breath, then take another. ;)<br /><br />So I took a deep breath, then another, then went next door and picked up my marriage license.<br /><br />And realized that people who don't listen exist all around.<br /><br />Apparently, 'Sharon' was going to marry Nathan. This was the name the woman put down - while she had my passport in her hand, copying everything from it. *sigh*<br /><br />Oh well...one more little step in the right direction.<br /><br />Though I apparently also live in Surrey.Fire and Icehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314249262153714244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-892838459430949126.post-67549731381515213922009-03-20T11:04:00.000-07:002009-03-20T11:22:28.899-07:00Wedding bands...So.<br /><br />*My* wedding band was ready about 2.5 weeks after it went in to the studio. The diamonds came in from Boston. Those took 3 days to ship. The ring is a near perfect match to my engagement ring.<br /><br />Getting Nathan's wedding band done....is another story all together. Apparently, it's almost IMPOSSIBLE to get a white/red/white gold 11.0mm wide comfort fit band made:<br /><br />Early February: I send in a request for a quote to have Nathan's band made up by the studio. Now word back for 2 weeks. Faxed it through again and got word back the same day from Cindy that: "Oh, we don't do that, Imperial will do that." Why the HELL doesn't anyone tell me this for the two weeks that have gone by?<br /><br />Mid February: Fax Imperial with same exact description for the band. A fax comes through a few days later for a white/red/yellow band with a note that they don't solder tri-coloured bands together. The hell? Tri-coloured? Are these people literate? Turns out, no they aren't. Spoke with one of the bubble-brains and had them redo the quote for the PROPER ring colours. Get the proper quote the same day, tell them to move ahead with it. Ahhh...all is right in my world. <br /><br />Beginning of March: Imperial calls - they can't do the inside round like they QUOTED me TWO and a half WEEKS previous when I gave the go-ahead. Fine - my ;client; is right pissed off that it took two weeks after he gave the deposit and the go-ahead and now they re-neg on their contract. Fuck.<br /><br />Mid-March: (now-ish) Faxed BACK to the studio for our designer to get a quote on making it. If anyone can figure this out, she can. Also faxed another company in Quebec on the off chance that they could give me a quote for what I want.<br /><br />Today: Got off the phone with the studio designer - order the rings from Imperial. Have them do the bands, solder them together, and do the grooves on the outside. Then have it sent to the studio to have them round out the inside.<br /><br />Damn - I feel like I'm running around in an Abbot and Costello skit.Fire and Icehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314249262153714244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-892838459430949126.post-5426187008292049122009-03-18T23:24:00.000-07:002009-03-19T00:03:10.611-07:00Venue<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4gnXuDl3cAkTx0xQSchXgkHoWUFaBPDG7cfLZj3BM4zYCKnx20RxnuiyMxEaGd2fZfMQgD9-1P1Mn890dUKCJvD9nqiqcvhEoaV9RubctuK8zhhGoxC8jxOmaPfYhxrqbZNiVSKKWVvoR/s1600-h/IMG_0623.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4gnXuDl3cAkTx0xQSchXgkHoWUFaBPDG7cfLZj3BM4zYCKnx20RxnuiyMxEaGd2fZfMQgD9-1P1Mn890dUKCJvD9nqiqcvhEoaV9RubctuK8zhhGoxC8jxOmaPfYhxrqbZNiVSKKWVvoR/s200/IMG_0623.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314788386671857586" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Yup - got the venue for the ceremony all booked. See? Nathan's holding it for us.<br /><br />As usual, Nathan was right from the get-go. I was thinking about the area by the cute little heritage schoolhouse, he was thinking about a gazebo or little pond I had no memory of. Of course, my memory extends as far as grade 6 (I think) slogging through the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">marshy</span> area to examine pond life (and do you think for one second that this gal took to the cloudy waters in her bare feet like she was instructed? Hells no. Not on my life - there were *things* in there that I could actually see....skittering about), and to the horse trails that Dallas and I would ride...back in grade 11.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Sooo</span>....it's been a while.<br /><br />Nathan scouted the area after I'd put my application to hold a ceremony in the park - and I spoke with the G.V.R.D. lady today to request a slight change in venue. She had absolutely no problem with the change and, in fact, encouraged the area we had now chosen to be the spot we get married at.<br /><br />Here's the little schoolhouse area - note the lack of any shelter should it rain (though, I'd be that annoying person who doesn't care if I get rained on at my own wedding).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC5Q5uxCTk6HttBmwHNPFB5_8gvPcX5UeI78UCLZDT_24Av6pBtg3xBaGJXAe1QjJBtjAsd5S_MzxYYoGhVRSMZjF66a1Tg0lm3qzCP_i9WREAkMGSz8MK-KBzzeatwx4h0NVnA75MbZSF/s1600-h/IMG_0633.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC5Q5uxCTk6HttBmwHNPFB5_8gvPcX5UeI78UCLZDT_24Av6pBtg3xBaGJXAe1QjJBtjAsd5S_MzxYYoGhVRSMZjF66a1Tg0lm3qzCP_i9WREAkMGSz8MK-KBzzeatwx4h0NVnA75MbZSF/s200/IMG_0633.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314788382399272578" border="0" /></a><br />And here's the new, improved venue!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_livx9lISCBXfESULJ20By0TJAcCMucwPjOrOka2ZS3qCyDA53glKKslgQpg3Qh-YZcxPcO-jf7xskX-YwoF_XUSg2Zx8IWIIL94O4IC2a18nIpL5VlLUKyfTrU7U9SxHaJ37e4j3B9wA/s1600-h/IMG_0663.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_livx9lISCBXfESULJ20By0TJAcCMucwPjOrOka2ZS3qCyDA53glKKslgQpg3Qh-YZcxPcO-jf7xskX-YwoF_XUSg2Zx8IWIIL94O4IC2a18nIpL5VlLUKyfTrU7U9SxHaJ37e4j3B9wA/s200/IMG_0663.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314789702142210290" border="0" /></a><br />Did I mention there's the cutest little bridge that goes over the stream that leads into the duck pond?<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIZL2grL65NCkgG3MDiDW9qMlvX-OFMhw-wVCcePGkkm-teqbt2uEarnA4KTiGmScvhx2r3wLsLmZb0SoJX93OgDSX29-XIyme_pHLIJOFBvyQe9OYwRHFHmLB-htgpSpZExLfEzd0imyv/s1600-h/IMG_0656.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIZL2grL65NCkgG3MDiDW9qMlvX-OFMhw-wVCcePGkkm-teqbt2uEarnA4KTiGmScvhx2r3wLsLmZb0SoJX93OgDSX29-XIyme_pHLIJOFBvyQe9OYwRHFHmLB-htgpSpZExLfEzd0imyv/s200/IMG_0656.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314789697313883746" border="0" /></a>Fire and Icehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13314249262153714244noreply@blogger.com0